City manager expects 2026 Jeannette budget to balance without tax increase

Property taxes are expected to remain steady in Jeannette’s 2026 budget.

“I do not see a need for a tax increase unless something disastrous happens between now and the November council meeting,” City Manager Ethan Keedy said.

There is more work to be done on the proposed spending plan, but numbers will be ironed out over the coming weeks as Keedy meets with department managers.

“We should be able to get these expenses balanced without the need for a tax increase,” he said.

Keedy provided council members with spreadsheets outlining anticipated expenditures and revenue for 2026 in addition to actual numbers dating to 2023. The group met for an initial budget preparation discussion Tuesday. The next session is scheduled for Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. at city hall.

A preliminary version of the 2026 budget is expected to be up for a vote during council’s regular meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 13. Jeannette’s millage rate is 35.62 mills, which is slated to bring in $1.925 million in 2026.

Councilwoman Michelle Langdon renewed her annual request to reduce the earned- income tax.

“I would like to see that come down,” she said.

One percent of earned-income taxes are used for general purposes and an additional 0.4% is put toward pension plans for retirees.

Keedy said he wouldn’t change the rate until a determination from the state Auditor General’s office is complete. That audit will determine the how revenue generated from the tax can be used.

“I don’t want to change the tax rate until we know for sure what can be paid out of it,” he said.

The earned-income tax was raised in the mid-2010s as the city grappled with underfunded pensions. It was decreased to the current rate — 1.4% — in 2020. That came after years of fluctuations, to as high as 2% in 2015, as the city caught up on its overdue obligations for the funds.